From a young age, wrestling and singing have been an integral part of senior Jake Nye’s life. When Nye was in first grade, he was introduced to the sport of wrestling by his father. The sport grew on him and he continued competing throughout middle school and high school. Similar to wrestling, Nye became involved with music through his family. Nye’s father introduced him to music, which is also popular with the rest of his family. Nye has three uncles who are pastors that all sing, and his cousins appreciate music as well. His cousins sing and play a variety of instruments such as the piano, violin, and guitar.

Nye, who sings in the high school choir and on his own, explained where he sings songs outside of school and choir class.

“I will sing with my dad at nursing homes, put on patriotic concerts, [and] we will do oldies songs like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, [and] Nat King Cole at nursing homes. Also, we just put on a Christmas concert before winter break at the Masonic Hall in Richfield, [which] went pretty well. We had a pretty nice turn out. We also had Ashley Oakley and Garrison Peters come and they sang and played guitar. We sang a ton of different songs [and] had sing alongs,” Nye said.

Nye also discussed the differences between choir singing and his independent singing efforts.

“[Choir is] more of a bond with everybody. Everyone knows what they are supposed to do and [we all] help each other out, [whereas] when I am going out myself it is all on me. There is a little more pressure and a little more stress that goes in when you are [performing] by yourself than with a big group,” Nye said.

Choir teacher Alice Forney mentioned her first impression of Nye.

“I met [Nye] when I was student teaching here last spring and I met him in the choir room. My first impression was that he was a diligent, hard working man, good leader, had a strong sense of himself and was excited to be here doing what he was doing,” Forney said.

Forney also expressed how she believes the other students in choir view Nye.

“[The choir views] him as a leader, both academically, musically and also personally. He’s just a really friendly person to be around. He draws people in with his personality, so I think that students view him positively and students generally want to be around him,” Forney said.

Seven-year head wrestling coach Dan Mosher talked of how Nye was elected as a captain of the wrestling team. Additionally, Mosher explained why he thinks Nye’s teammates chose him to be the captain.

“They elected him as captain because of the time he has put into the sport. He showed up to all of the off-season workouts, and encouraged others to do so. I also think they respect his choices off the mat as well,” Mosher said.

Mosher discussed the leadership role that Nye holds on the wrestling team.

“Jake has set a good example by his effort in practice, and by encouraging several of his teammates to get to off-season workouts and tournaments,” Mosher said.

As Nye nears the end of his high school career he continues to succeed in his singing career and senior wrestling season. He also spends his time singing with his dad at nursing homes and putting on patriotic concerts.